Are you certain those numbers are right? That would mean that neither the Pats nor the Bucs have had a defense TD, special teams TD or safety against them.

If you use points make sure you only charge points against the defense they gave up.

If the QB throws an int that is run back for a TD, it is pretty unreasonable to count that against the def.

Also yards are used b/c if one team has an offense and special teams are inept so the opposing team has an starting position of needing 15 yards for a TD, and another team gives their opposing team a field position so they need 85 yards to score, it is unreasonable to say that the first defense is not as good as the second if they give up slightly more points.

The league ranks defenses and offenses on yards, but I think it is stupid to do so. If you have an opportunistic defense and they get a lot of turnovers and three and outs, the your offense might not have as many yards because you are always working with a short field. If you have a bend don't break defense, you give up yards but not points.

It does help with the argument that this team is the best of all time if we finish the year scoring the most points and giving up the least for the season.

On the other hand, what if you have a team that plays a bend but don't break defense and they pitch a shutout? Wouldn't it be unfair to judge them based solely on the yards given up? I think both stats are useful to look at.

Percentage of 3rd downs allowed to be converted is also a useful stat. Usually the team with the better 3rd down percentage ends up winning. This is not because of the stat itself, rather it reflects that teams with better 3rd down conversions generally can sustain longer drives which leads to scoring.

Are you certain those numbers are right? That would mean that neither the Pats nor the Bucs have had a defense TD, special teams TD or safety against them.

If you use points make sure you only charge points against the defense they gave up.

If the QB throws an int that is run back for a TD, it is pretty unreasonable to count that against the def.

Also yards are used b/c if one team has an offense and special teams are inept so the opposing team has an starting position of needing 15 yards for a TD, and another team gives their opposing team a field position so they need 85 yards to score, it is unreasonable to say that the first defense is not as good as the second if they give up slightly more points.